One Year
by WishFlower
Summary: Draco and Hermione are both working at Hogwarts, but no year at Hogwarts is ever normal is it?


Other Dramione

**Chapter One: **

"It's such a long time until Christmas!" Hermione cried into the Ron Weasley's shoulder. He patted her head soothingly and murmured kind words to her.

"Cheer up, Hermione. You're going to have such a fun time! You get to be with books all day long! And I'll see you at Christmas!" Ron said.

"But being at Hogwarts won't be the same without you guys!" Suddenly Hermione was having second thoughts about taking the position of librarian at Hogwarts.

"Would you like more chicken, 'Mione?" Ginny passed her the platter of chicken, her wedding ring glittering in the lamp light.

Ginny and Harry were just married that past spring and were living in a tiny cottage just twenty walking minutes from Ginny's parents house. Hermione and Ron were dating and lived in a flat in Diagon Alley. Harry, Ron and Hermione were all twenty three by now.

"How's your work, Ron?" Hermione tried to act happier.

"Oh, it's going fine. Not much action since all the Dark Wizards have mostly all been ousted, right Harry?" Ron and Harry were both Aurors for the Ministry and Ginny was working at Gringotts like Bill.

"I'm glad you came over one last time before you have to leave for Hogwarts." Harry said to Hermione. He missed Hogwarts so much.

"Yeah, well. I should be going now. I have to leave early tomorrow. Ready to go, Ronald?" Hermione stood up and grabbed her purse.

"Can we stay for a little bit longer, 'Mione?" Ron puppy-dog eyed her.

"But I'm so tired, and I haven't finished packing yet."

"Can you go back now and I'll be along in an hour or so?" Hermione couldn't believe this! Their last night together and he wanted to stay with his sister and friend!

"Fine. I'll see you later, maybe." She tried not to sound so cold but couldn't help her frostiness.

Ron flinched and she apparated into their tiny flat. Hermione sighed at the messy room. Ron was supposed to clean up a little. She started picking up magazines and coffee mugs. She magicked on the lights and finished magically packing her trunk. An hour later, Ron still wasn't home. Hermione tried not to cry as she fell asleep alone again.

The next morning Ron is snoring beside her. She smiles and pokes him. He grunts as he wakes and smiles back. She kisses his face and he laughs. She gets dressed and he brings her trunk into the front hall. She makes him coffee as he showers. When he gets dressed, she makes the bed. It's their morning routine and she's going to miss it.

She jumps into his arm and kisses him. He tastes like morning breath and coffee.

"I'll miss you." Hermione whispers into his shoulder. He hugs her back and hands her, her wand.

She sprinkles some floo powder into the fireplace and shouts, "Hogwarts!" Her last sight before she's sucked into the whirling emerald flames is Ron's freckled face.

She stumbles onto the rug in Professor McGonagall's office.

"H-hello, Professor." Hermione picked up her trunk and dusted off her robe.

"Hello, Ms. Granger. You can call me Minerva now that you're a staff member." Professor McGonagall was seated behind the headmaster's desk writing something with an expensive looking quill.

"Okay. Thank you. Um, where's my room?" Hermione asked awkwardly as McGonagall continued writing.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How rude of me. I was just writing a last minute letter to one of our new additions to our staff. Let me show you your new room." Minerva stood up and guided Hermione down to the staff wing of the school.

Minerva opened a door in one of the teacher's hallway and they went inside. Behind the front door was a small but cozy living room area. At the back of the room was a door that led to the bedroom. In the living room, there were two doors; one led to a closet and the other to a bathroom with a door one the other side of it.

"You will have to share a bathroom with another teacher. But now I will leave you to unpack your things and get settled. The sorting will begin in an hour." Minerva nodded towards Hermione and left the room.

Hermione unpacked all her clothes into the bureau in the bedroom and put the trunk and her coats and shoes in the closet. The bedroom and living room and bathroom were all very spacious and cozy but the best part was the amount of bookshelves in the room. Pretty much the entire room was covered with bookshelves. Hermione loved it. She picked up a dusty, old looking book and settled onto the couch. About an hour later, she realized she was about to be late and raced into the Great Hall, found a seat at the head table and watched the First Years get sorted.

At the end of the sorting, Professor McGonagall stood up and made the usual speech. Don't go into the forest, don't go out at night, and don't get Filch mad at you. Then she smiled and said, "We also have two new staff members joining us this year. As you know, Madam Pince retired last year so Ms. Granger is our new librarian."

Hermione stood up and waved at the students. Everyone cheered for her; they knew she was part of the Golden Trio. And the Seventh Years remembered her from when they were in First Year.

She sat back down as McGonagall continued talking. "Also, joining us for the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts is-"

The doors burst open and a tall, blonde man walked in, "Sorry." He said, "Am I late?"

"Malfoy?!" Hermione screamed.

**Chapter Two: **

"Ms. Granger, please calm down!" McGonagall demanded. The feast had long ended and Hermione and Malfoy were sitting in McGonagall's office.

"How could you hire him?! He was a _deatheater!" _Hermione shrieked.

"_Was _being the key word here." Malfy drawled.

"Shut up!"

"Ms. Granger!" McGonagall's voice snapped like a whip. Hermione flinched and sat back down.

"As I was saying, you two have had your differences, but that was in the past. You have grown up. And you're both staff members here, so you need to set a good example for the students. Understand?" She looked so stern, Hermione instantly felt like she was eleven years old again and not an almost-twenty-four-year old woman.

"Yes, ma'am." She whispered.

Draco simply nodded.

"Good. I know it's highly unusual, but you two will also be sharing a bathroom. Usually two teachers of the same gender have an adjoining bathroom, but I hope this will encourage you to get along."

Neither Hermione nor Draco replied, but she was sure he was screaming inside like she was.

"Also, I would like to make both of you Heads of Houses. Hermione will be Gryffindor and Draco, Slytherin. Professor Slughorn used to be the Head of Slytherin, but he stepped down. And we haven't had a proper Head of Gryffindor since myself."

Hermione glowed. She was the Head of Gryffindor! This was better than finding out she was a prefect and Head Girl. This was even better than her first kiss with Ron!

"Okay, then. Goodnight, Mr. Malfoy, remember your first class starts at 8:30 in the morning. Don't be late." McGonagall dismissed them.

Hermione got out of her chair and opened the office door, Malfoy shoved in front of her and exited first. She grit her teeth, refusing to let loose the angry words on her tongue.

Hermione went to her room. Thank God she didn't have to share that with him! She turned on the light and went to the bed room and changed into pajamas. Nothing too sexy, just plaid cotton pants and a tank top. She grabbed her make up bag and went into the bathroom.

"GET OUT, GRANGER!"

She turned and slammed the door behind her. That was awkward. Sure, he was only washing his face, but he didn't have a shirt on!

Hermione sat on the couch and waited until the burning in her cheeks subsided, then went into the now empty bathroom and wiped off the little bit of make up she was wearing and brushed her teeth.

She crawled into the luxurious bed by herself. She missed Ron like crazy, but it was nice to be able to spread out when she slept. He was such a bed hog. Hermione fell asleep dreaming of her beloved.

The next morning Hermione woke up bright and early. She was excited for her first day of being the librarian. She already had a plan to reorganize the shelves. She grabbed her robes and went to have a shower. Thankfully the bathroom was empty. She showered quick and readied her hair and make up then went downstairs to the Great Hall.

She sat down and scooped some scrambled eggs onto her plate. Looking at the Great Hall was so different from up here, she thought to herself. Suddenly she missed Harry and Ron. She missed being the bushy haired girl with a love for the library. She looked enviously at the students, remembering all the adventures Harry, Ron and she had gotten into. She sighed.

"Morning, Granger." A cruel voice disrupted her reverie.

She glanced up at Malfoy. "Morning." She muttered.

He sat down next to her and put some bacon on his plate. She tensed up, set her shoulders straight and tried to chew as silently as possible.

He also made no attempt at conversation. Even though there were other seats open, he chose to sit next to her and say nothing. Draco Malfoy would never stop confusing her.

The finished their meal in silence and then went their own separate ways, without even a word of goody bye.

When Hermione got to the library, she inhaled deeply. It smelled amazing. But it was so dark. Madam Pince always had the curtains shut. Hermione walked over to the windows and pulled open all the curtains. The old room was bathed in the warm autumn sunlight. Hermione could see all of the grounds from the window. She saw Hagrid followed by Fang chopping wood in front of his cabin. And Professor Sprout leading a group of third years into the greenhouses.

But she had to get back to work. It was her job to deliver all the textbooks to the classes. She put each class's textbooks onto the cart and pushed it into the hall. First was the Transfiguration class.

"Hello, I came to drop off the books." Hermione quietly said to the teacher. It was a middle aged man with dark brown hair that was receding slightly. His black eyes seemed to stare into her soul. After the Final Battle, they had to get many new teachers like for Transfiguration.

"Thank you, Ms. Granger." His face was eerily blank as he said that, it was a little creepy. Hermione wondered how he knew her name, but then she realized her probably heard Professor McGonagall say it during The Sorting.

"You're welcome Professor……." Hermione trailed off in embarrassment when she knew she didn't know his name.

"Ah, yes I'm sorry I never introduced myself. I'm Professor Ignatius Wilde." He kept staring at her in a cold, calculating sort of way. Hermione had the feeling he was studying her.

"Nice to meet you, but I really should be going. I have a lot of books left to deliver." For a second there, she sort of forgot she was surrounded by students, it felt like it was just her and Professor Wilde in the room.

She went about the morning delivering textbooks to the classes, but couldn't forget the strange meeting with Professor Wilde. The last class she came to was just before lunch and it was Malfoy's class. She pushed open the door to see him standing at the front of the class screaming at the very frightened looking second years.

"I WON'T TAKE BACK TALK IN MY CLASSROOM!" He shouted at a very small boy.

"I-I-I just said that you were wrong about boggarts!" The boy trembled in front of Malfoy.

"I'M NEVER WRONG YOU LITTLE KNOW-IT-ALL!"

"Malfoy!" Hermione barked out.

"WHAT?!" He screamed back. Wow. He was really mad. His hair was completely messed up and his face was beet red.

"Stop yelling! You need to calm down!" She tried to sound mature and soothing, but apparently failed.

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO, MUD-"He stopped there, but what he said was enough. Everyone in the room knew what he was going to say. The red in his face faded and he turned away from Hermione. She was secretly furious, but tried to keep a cool façade for the children, who, by the way, were offended as she was.

The bell rang for lunch and Malfoy muttered a dismissal for the students, "Get out of my sight."

His body stopped trembling with rage and he smoothed his hair. He wouldn't meet her eye, so she could tell he was embarrassed by his previous anger.

"I came to drop off the textbooks." Hermione unloaded them onto his desk and turned to go.

"I'm…….. sorry, Granger." The apology sounded forced and strained, and Hermione nodded so he knew she heard.

At lunch she made sure to sit between Professor Sprout and Hagrid. Hagrid chatted happily with her about his classes and a couple of kids that reminded him of her, Ron and Harry. The reminisced about the past for a bit, and when lunch ended, Hagrid made her promise that she would come to his cabin for a visit sometime soon.

All afternoon Hermione worked on cleaning up and dusting off the library that hadn't been cleaned all summer.

When the bell rang to signal the end of the day, she packed up her bag and went back to her room. In front of her door stood a very awkward looking DADA teacher.

"Please move aside, Malfoy so I can get into my room." She said as coldly as she could.

"I want to talk to you." He sounded like that was the last thing he wanted.

"Uh huh."

"I want you to know….. that I really am…… sorry…… for what I said to you." He was staring so hard at the floor; Hermione thought he could bore a hole through it.

"No, you're not. You call me a mudblood all the time. Why should this time make you feel sorry?" Hermione didn't fall for his act.

"Because we're both adults this time-"

"Bullshit!" Hermione lashed out.

Suddenly his eyes no longer stared at the floor, they glared at her with intense loathing. "You know _nothing_ about me so stop trying to pretend that we're seventeen again!"

"Leave me alone or I'll tell McGonagall what you said to me in front of a class of twelve year olds!"

"You're going to tell on me? What are we five?" He tried to look disinterested, but Hermione could detect a hint of panic in his eyes.

"I will if I have to." She turned in the direction of the Headmistresses office, but was surprised by Malfoy's hand wrapping around her wrist. She couldn't remember a time when he willingly touched her.

"Wait- please don't tell McGonagall!" He sounded so desperate, she turned around again.

"Why shouldn't I?" She ripped her hand away from him and kept her voice ice cold.

"Because…. because I need this job!" It was like the words were ripped from his lips.

"You don't need a job! You're rich!" Hermione's shocked tone seemed to anger him slightly.

"Have you not read any papers since six years ago? My family lost all our money! No one will hire us! And since my father died-" if it was anyone else, Hermione would've said that he was getting a little choked up.

"And when McGonagall offered me this job, I didn't want to take it but I need the money! This morning I got an owl saying that my mother had fallen down our stairs and was in St. Mungo's, and I just lost it. So, if McGonagall finds out what I called you, she'll fire me and then I don't know what I'd do." Malfoy finished quietly.

Hermione was stunned into silence. Malfoy had never expressed any emotion towards her except coldness, cruelty and hatred. It didn't even feel real that he was being this honest with her.

"Okay….. but I want you to apologize to your class for what you said. You offended them as well." Hermione said awkwardly.

Malfoy glared at her, "No."

"Fine." She said and walked away towards McGonagall's office.

"Wait! I'll….. apologize." He said it the way someone would say "eat dirt".

She felt something like a smile inch up her face, but that couldn't be right because she was with _Malfoy! _

He must of noticed her expression because he quickly said a gruff "Goodnight." and rushed into his room.

Hermione went into her own quarters, and dressed for bed. She waited a bit for the bathroom because she couldn't stand seeing Malfoy again.

She wrote out a detailed letter to Ron explaining about her first day, Malfoy, and whatever else crossed her mind at the time. But she didn't write about Malfoy's confession, that was his secret.

She left the letter on the table beside the couch, ready to send the next day. She went into the bathroom to brush her teeth, thankful that her bathroom mate appeared to be done.

Once again, Hermione fell asleep alone.

**Chapter Three: **

Hermione crept up to the Owlery to send her letter. It was still pretty early so she didn't expect to see anyone, so she was pretty surprised to see her blonde bathroom mate.

"Oh, hi!" Hermione said shivering in the early morning cold. The Owlery had no windows.

Malfoy faced a couple of owls. "Hello." His greeting was strange. It had zero emotion in it. Usually he spoke to her with cruelty and mockery in his voice.

She felt oddly disappointed. She didn't really expect that Malfoy and her would be BFFs after what he told her, but it would be nice if he was a little kinder towards her.

They both caught owls and tied their letters to them in silence. She sent the owl off with instructions to go to Ron.

"Still dating the weasel?" For Malfoy, that was only a semi-mean comment.

"His name is Ronald, and yes, I am dating him." Hermione told him stiffly.

"Whatever Granger." He didn't seem in the mood to fight this morning. Well, who would be? Hermione was so cold, she could see her breath and it was only September!

"Who are you sending a letter to?" Hermione said, making small talk.

"My mum. I want to see how she's feeling." Malfoy's answer was blunt and to the point.

He seemed to be moving faster than usual, Hermione told herself logically he would want to get out of the cold as soon as possible, but a little voice inside her said he just wanted to get away from her. She didn't know why this thought hurt.

"I will be making my apologizies to the class just before lunch if you want to come to prove that it actually happened." He half turned his head towards her and spoke quietly.

"Alright."

Later that day, just before lunch, Hermione quietly knocked on the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom door. Malfoy let her in looking slightly annoyed.

"You interrupted my lecture." He snapped at her.

"You told me to come." She snapped back.

He glared at her and walked back to the front of the class.

"I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was unprofessional and inappropriate." He sounded cold and insincere.

"Are you really sorry?" Hermione verbally pushed him.

"Yes! I'm really, _really _sorry for almost calling you the 'M' word!" He yelled.

Hermione smirked. But her smirk soon fell when a skinny girl in the second row said, "Hug her."

"I'm not hugging her." Malfoy looked vaguely disgusted at the very idea.

"You should hug her to show her how sorry you really are." The girl said again.

Hermione shook her head and the class started chanting, "Hug her, hug her, hug her!"

Hermione shouted above the ruckus the twelve year olds were making, "We're not going to hug!" so she was pretty surprised when she felt a pair of cool, strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her close. She gasped and looked up into silver eyes. The hug was short, only a few seconds, and Hermione felt the absence of his arms immediately.

The room filled with cat calls and wolf whistles. Hermione was embarrassed to admit she felt her face heating up.

She was saved from further shame with the ring of the lunch bell. The class filed out, and left Hermione standing awkwardly in front of Malfoy.

"So, uh, that was pretty juvenile of them to ask us to hug, right?" She tried to play it off as a joke, but failed.

Malfoy's face was his usual mask of coldness, but his grey his looked warmer.

He opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by an icy voice walking in and saying, "Good afternoon Professor Malfoy, Ms. Granger."

"Oh, hello, Professor Wilde." Hermione said quietly. She didn't know why this guy had such a bad effect on her.

"Hello, I just came to talk to Professor Malfoy, but if I'm interrupting something….." His tone was perfectly pleasant, but his eyes remained black holes.

"Oh, no. I was just leaving." Hermione said and left. As she was going, she saw Malfoy's face. He didn't really look like he wanted to talk to Professor Wilde either.

The rest of the day passed by quietly enough. She sorted through books, organized the shelves and helped some students do some research on gnomes. She ate dinner and spent the rest of the evening in the library.

Hermione got back to her room and found an owl waiting for her. She ran to it eagerly and paid it. She tore open the letter to see it was from Ron.

_Dear 'Mione,_

_Miss you too. Send me back some treacle tart if you can. See you at Christmas. _

_- Ron _

Hermione felt like someone stepped on her heart. She wrote Ron _six pages _and he only sent her three sentences! He didn't even sign it with love! To top it all off, he wrote it on a napkin. She brushed the tears from her cheeks and through the letter to the couch.

She collapsed next to the offending note and sobbed herself dry. When she finally calmed down, it was after midnight. She changed into her pajamas and went into the bathroom.

Hermione grimaced at her scary reflection. Her hair was messed up and her make up was smeared. Her skin was pale and blotchy and her eyes were bloodshot.

She attempted to brush her tangled curls. It was difficult to say the least. She was ready to give up and go cry again when she heard a quiet knock. She knew it could only be Malfoy but was still surprised he knocked.

She opened the door and he stepped into the tiny space. He ran a hand through his blonde locks and muttered, "Are you okay? You woke me up with your crying."

"Well, I'm sorry my sorrow was so loud!" Hermione snapped. She was in no mood to deal with his crap.

"That wasn't what I meant." He said irritably.

"Then what did you mean?"

"I wanted to know why you were crying." For the first time, Hermione noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt. She blushed and turned back to the mirror.

"Ron sent me a letter. It wasn't very long." Hermione said trying to sound as normal as possible, but to her horror she could see her lower lip trembling.

"What did it say?"

"Oh, nothing really." She tried to sound nonchalant.

Malfoy pushed past her into her living room area and came back reading her letter.

"Stupid git." Malfoy muttered. "He's a prat, just ignore him. He's not worth it."

"I-I-I wrote him this long letter, and all he wrote me was three sentences!" Hermione cried out. The tears were falling thick and fast down her face.

She covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders shook with the tears she couldn't stop. And then for the second time that day, she felt Malfoy's arms around her. They felt cool and good against her hot skin. He just held her as she cried. It was more comforting to her than if he tried to talk to her. A little while later, Hermione sniffed, removed her face from Malfoy's shoulder, and wiped her face. She was afraid to look in the mirror; she must look like quite a fright now.

"Are you okay now……Hermione?" Malfoy said shyly and quietly.

"Did you just call me by my first name?" She almost died from the shock.

He scowled, but more in embarrassment than anger. "Maybe."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm okay……… Draco."

She swear he blushed when she said that, but it was too dim in the bathroom to be sure.

"Well, then goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow I guess." He squeezed her hand and walked out of the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Hermione looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a frizzy mess, her face was tear stained and blotchy, her eyes were bloodshot and read and her make up was everywhere. But all she could see was the huge smile on her face.

**Chapter Four: **

"Hey, Hermione!" A voice called to her as she passed the front doors on her way to breakfast.

"Neville! What are you doing here?" Hermione skidded to a halt in front of her old friend.

"I'm the new Herbology professor! I was sick for the past couple days so Professor Sprout has been covering for me, but I'm here now!" He told her happily.

"That's so great that we're both back at Hogwarts!" Hermione told him sincerely.

They walked to the Great Hall together and sat together. McGonagall stood up and called attention to the crowd of kids.

"Good morning everyone! Our last professor is here at last. Neville Longbottom is going to teach Herbology now. He was sick so that's why Professor Sprout has been substituting for him. She will be leaving now, so please treat Professor Longbottom with the same respect you treated Professor Sprout with."

Hermione applauded loudly for him. Neville blushed beet red.

"So, what's new with Hogwarts?" Neville asked her as he spooned eggs onto his plate.

"Well, there is another teacher from our year." She said reluctantly.

"Who?" Neville said.

"What are you doing here, Longbottom? Decided to redo school? You know, the squib table is over there." Malfoy leaned in and said. He pointed to the Gryffindor table and laughed.

Neville blushed and Hermione glared at Malfoy. "Shut up, Malfoy. Remember how you have to be nice to people? Don't want to be fired now, do we?"

His laughter stopped and he scowled at her. He chose a seat at the other end of the table and didn't look at them for the rest of the meal.

"So, I guess Malfoy is here too." Neville said to Hermione.

"Yeah, he's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I'm the Librarian."

"Do you like being the librarian? Being surrounded by books all day would be good for you, right? I guess we're both doing what we love." Neville said warmly to her. Hermione laughed.

After breakfast, they separated and went on their way. The library was pretty quiet all morning so Hermione started reading her beloved _Hogwarts: A History _and didn't feel hungry enough to stop when lunchtime came. She was deep in her book when a voice startled her out of it.

"Hello, Ms. Granger." She stood up to face Ignatius Wilde.

"Oh, hi! You startled me!" She backed up a little.

"I'm sorry, my dear. I didn't mean to. So what are you reading? Ah, the Hogwarts book, it's a good read. Speaking of Hogwarts it must be nice to be back after all these years. Was it fun when you were younger? I heard you and Draco Malfoy didn't get along that well. Are you friendlier now? What's he like?" Professor Wilde scared and confused her with all his questions.

Thankfully she was saved from answering with the entry of the very man Wilde was talking about.

"Hello, Professor. What are you and Ms. Granger doing in here when the rest of the school is eating lunch in the Great Hall? I just came to drop off a book. Ms. Granger, are you feeling up to joining me for lunch?"

"Oh, yes, thank you! That sounds great!" Hermione tried not to sound too eager, but couldn't help it.

Malfoy took her arm like they did in old movies and led her out of the library. They walked like that all the way to the Great Hall, but when they were just outside the door, he stopped and said, "Stay away from Ignatius Wilde. He's dangerous."

He said no more, just walked into the room, leaving Hermione standing outside very confused.

The next few weeks passed peacefully enough. Hermione mostly hung around with Neville. On the morning of September 19th, she woke up with a little more spirit than usual.

She scampered down to the Great Hall and was pouring herself a mug of coffee, when the post arrived.

She eagerly ripped open the letters she was expecting. One was just _The Daily Prophet _which she always got, and the other two were packages from her friends.

Today was Hermione's twenty-fourth birthday. From Harry and Ginny, she got a wand-cleaning kit. Complete with a How-To… book and magical cloths. Ron's present was a bit disappointing. He got her a gift basket from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and a Wizard cook book. She sighed. Ron never got her good presents.

"What do you got there?" Neville asked her.

"Birthday presents from Harry, Ginny and Ron." She answered.

"Today's your birthday?"

"Yep, I'm twenty-four."

"Did I hear you say today is your birthday, Hermione?" A ghostly head said as it popped from her plate.

Hermione screamed, "Nearly Headless Nick!"

He scowled, "I _prefer_ Sir Nicholas De Mimsy Porpington."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I'm sorry! I meant only to bestow upon you birthday wishes!" With that he completely rose from the table and floated in front of the room. He cleared his throat and said, "May I have your attention please! Today is our lovely librarian's birthday! Can everyone please joining me in singing "Happy Birthday" to Ms. Hermione Granger!"

"Nick!" Hermione shrieked.

A few people laughed, but they all joined Nick in singing the birthday song. Hermione's face was so hot; she felt she could cook an egg on it. She scowled and glared at the Gryffindor ghost when he finished singing then ate her meal as fast as she could and raced to the cool confines to the library.

She leaned her forehead against a dusty shelf. She heard a quiet laugh behind her, and she quickly spun around.

"Happy Birthday, Granger." Malfoy said. He held out a neatly wrapped gold and red box to her.

She took it suspiciously, "What is it? Some kind of prank?"

"No, no prank. Just open it! I have to leave soon!" He crossed his arms.

Hermione gently opened the package to see a very old, but well cared for copy of _Hogwarts: A History. _

"It's the original copy. And look inside." Malfoy carefully took the book from her and opened the front cover. Inside was a faded and messy signature of the author.

"Oh my God! You got me the original signed copy of my favorite book?! Oh, Draco!" Hermione leaped in to hug him. She froze in his arms. After the night Ron's letter came, nothing changed between them. They didn't know how to act around each other. And they went back to calling each other by there last names. So this hug was kind of out of the ordinary.

Hermione cringed when she realized that she called him by his first name and was hugging him. She was about to freak out when she felt Malfoy's arms around her. The hug was short and sweet, interrupted by the ringing of the morning bell.

He stepped away from her and smiled, "I'll see you later, Hermione."

She blushed and felt the breath leave her lungs, "Bye, Draco."

**Chapter Five: **

"Alright third years, hand in your permission form." Argus Filch spat at the group of eager students. Mrs. Norris sat beside him and glared at everyone with her lamp like eyes.

It was mid-October and the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

The third years that were going to the village for the first time, lined up and handed in their permission forms to the grumpy care taker.

Everyone else wandered down the dirt road to the little wizard village. Hermione fell into step with Neville. They got talking and Neville told Hermione that he and Hannah Abbott were dating.

"Oh, really? That's great Neville! How is she?" Hermione asked him sincerely.

Neville blushed and stammered, "She's doing really, really good. She's the new landlady at the Leaky Cauldron. She lives above the bar. I just moved in with her."

When they got into Hogsmeade, the pair decided to have a drink at the Three Broomsticks. They entered the noisy pub and got a table. The bar was filled with Hogwarts students, teachers and the regular customers. It was bustling and noisy and filled with light and warmth.

Hermione took off her coat and gloves and stood up to get her and Neville drinks.

"Do you want a butter beer, Neville?" Hermione asked.

Draco walked up to them carrying a tray of drinks, "Who wants a drink? I brought some Firewhiskey."

"I've never had Firewhiskey before. We shouldn't drink it in front of the kids." Hermione said with a frown.

"Come on, Hermione. Live a little. Drink the Firewhiskey." He held the drink in front of her and against her better judgment, she took it.

She took a sip and coughed most of it back up, "Ah, that stuff burns."

Draco calmly took a sip from his without managing to spew it back up.

"I think I'm going to get some more quills. I'll see you later, Hermione." Neville said and left.

Hermione took another sip of the burning drink and felt her eyes water and her throat burn. Draco looked slightly amused at her inability to drink a Firewhiskey.

They drank their drinks in silence for a little while. After a while, Hermione found it easier to drink and it made her insides feel warm as well.

"So the first Quidditch match of the season is tomorrow. Should be good. I mean, the team won't be as good as when _I _was on it, but still." Draco said arrogantly.

Hermione snorted. "Draco, they only let you on the team because you bought all those broomsticks for them."

A flicker of hurt flashed across Draco's smooth face and Hermione instantly regretted saying anything.

"Draco, I-"

"No, you're right. I am a no talent git. No one really likes me, just my money. But wait! I don't even have that anymore, so I guess I'm screwed!" He angrily threw a handful of change onto the table and stormed out of the cozy pub.

She grabbed her coat and chased after him.

"Wait, Draco! I didn't mean it!" She grabbed his arm and tugged him towards her.

He ripped away from her and sneered, "Of course I'm terrible at Quidditch compared to your precious Potter. 'The Chosen One' is good at everything. But what about the flea-bitten weasel? He was even worse than you think I was at Quidditch!"

"Leave Ron and Harry out of this! I said I didn't mean to say you bought your way onto the team! Can't you just forgive me?" She asked desperately.

"No!"

"Stop being so stubborn! I said I was sorry!" Hermione hated it, but she felt her eyes begin to tear up with no Firewhiskey involved.

"Are you- are you actually _crying?" _Draco looked stunned that Hermione Granger would cry in public over him.

Hermione wiped hastily at her eyes and bowed her head.

"No one has ever cried over me before. I feel so loved, Granger." Draco sneered sarcastically.

"You're just acting this way because you know that we're going to beat you tomorrow at the Quidditch match." She just said this to distract him and it worked. Guys were so easy.

"You think that Gryffindor can beat Slytherin in Quidditch?" Draco's eyes narrowed with mockery and amusement.

"I know they can."

"I bet you they can't."

"Alright, let's make this interesting. I'll grade all your papers for a month if Slytherin wins." Hermione really wasn't a betting woman, but Draco needed to be taken down a notch.

"And if Slytherin loses?" he raised one eyebrow.

"You join S.P.E.W. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare. And you will help promote it. Oh, and you have to wear the button!" Hermione crossed her arms and cocked her hip.

"You are so on." They shook hands and Hermione marched back to the castle.

Hermione made it back to the castle and ran straight up to the Gryffindor tower. She being the Head of Gryffindor made up the passwords so she had no trouble getting in.

"Verus Diligo!" Hermione said to the Fat Lady who guarded the tower.

Hermione pushed through into the common room to see it mostly full. The sun was setting and the students had to be back by sunset so they were almost all here.

She shouted above the cheerful noise, "Alright, you lot! Which ones of you are on the house Quidditch team?"

Seven kids stepped forward.

"Okay, this is the first game of the year and we're facing Slytherin and we really, _really _need to win! I made a bet with Dr- I mean Professor Malfoy and I don't want to grade his papers for a month so just try your best and win! Oh, and have fun too, I guess." Hermione no longer had to shout above the noise, because they were all listening intently now.

"Don't worry, Ms. Granger. I'm the captain and I've got an amazing game plan. We've been practicing every day. We won't let you down." A handsome seventh year informed her. She smiled at this boy, at how seriously he took a Quidditch game. He reminded her distinctly of Oliver Wood.

"Okay, good. Good luck, team! I hope everyone comes to cheer them on!" Hermione said as she left the common room. As she was walking out of the portrait, she heard the babble of excited voices. She and Draco were the youngest Heads of Houses ever, and she hoped the Gryffindors liked her.

She changed into her pajamas (her red and gold pajamas!) and went into the bathroom. Draco was already in there brushing his teeth.

"I hope you're prepared to lose." Hermione almost felt excited for tomorrow's game. She usually found the game boring beyond all belief, but something about challenging Draco held a certain appeal for her.

"I hope you're prepared to grade all my papers for a month. Got a quill ready?" He smirked at her; she felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Like something was jumping around in there. But when Draco turned back to the mirror, the feeling disappeared. How odd, Hermione thought.

"May the best team win." Draco said.

Hermione smirked at him, "Oh we will."

**Chapter Six: **

It was noon the next day and the Quidditch match had just started. It was cool for October but that was good, it meant that the players wouldn't brake too much of a sweat. It was pretty cloudy that day as well with only little patches of sunlight peeking through the clouds. The fact that it was a little cloudy meant that the players wouldn't be blinded by the sun. Hermione knew these facts because of years of hanging around Ron and Harry and the four hours she spent researching everything about Quidditch the night before. It couldn't hurt to be prepared, right?

"And they're off!" screamed the commentator, a stocky fourth year Ravenclaw. HHHHHHH

Hermione and Draco were sitting next to each other in the teachers' booth. Most of the teachers were here to watch the first match. Hermione could see Professor Sinistra, Professor Flitwick and Professor Wilde. Professor Wilde was staring at her and Hermione quickly turned back to the game.

She saw the captain of the Gryffindor team take hold of the Quaffle (he was a Chaser) and race to the Slytherin goal posts.

"And Andrews has possession of the Quaffle he's making his way to the Syltherin goal posts he throws it- oooh, the Slytherin Keeper, Stone blocked it. Gryffindor Beater, Grey sends Bludger down to Stone, he barely missed it! The two Seekers, Alden for Gryffindor and Morris for Slytherin, are flying above the pitch to get a good look around, good plan. Oh, Slytherin Chaser, Baker has the Quaffle, throws it at Gryffindor goal and….. misses. The other Slytherin Chaser, Roberts, catches it, he aims for the goal, but Buckney, the other Gryffindor Beater, hits the Bludger to knock the Quaffle out of Roberts hands, but MacKay, a Gryffindor Chaser catches it and passes it to his fellow Chaser, Smith who passes it to Andrews, who gets a goal! Ten points to Gryffindor!" All that was said very fast by the commentator.

The half of the stands that was dressed in red and gold burst into cheers and applause. The green and silver side booed.

Hermione jumped up and cheered. Draco rolled his eyes and Hermione stuck her tongue out at him.

She sat back down as the commentator started up again. Hermione and Draco both cheered and booed, both jumped up and clapped, both shouted at the ref, and both realized that they were having fun watching the game together. It was a little strange, for them to be able to enjoy spending time with the person they greatly enjoyed making miserable in their youth. It was especially strange for Hermione, she had thought she had hated Quidditch, but watching it with Draco was actually fun.

A Slytherin Beater, instead of hitting a Bludger, elbowed one of the Gryffindor Chasers Cassie MacKay and she almost fell off her broom.

"Cole Jones, one of the Slytherin Beaters brutally elbowed Gryffindor Chaser, Cassie MacKay, she slips but thankfully regains her balance on her Firebolt." The Commentator said.

Hermione and Draco both jump up.

"THAT'S A FOUL! THAT IS _SO _A FOUL! MADAME HOOCH, COME ON!" Hermione screamed to the Quidditch coach.

"WHO ARE YOU KIDDING?! THAT'S NOT A FOUL!" Draco shouted back. By now, most of the audience was also yelling their opinions.

"IS TOO!" Hermione shouted at him.

"IS NOT!" He shouted back.

"Will both of you _sit down _and act your age! You're bickering like an old married couple!" McGonagall snapped at them. Hermione blushed and sat down immediately. She didn't know about Draco (she avoided looking at him) but her face was turning cherry red.

The rest of the game was quieter in the teachers' booth. Hermione was embarrassed that McGonagall compared them to a couple, even if it was an old married couple. No one had ever compared her and Ron to and old married couple. Hermione shifted uneasily in her seat. She snapped to attention at what Jeremy Hoots, the commentator said next.

"And it looks like Jamie Alden; the Gryffindor Seeker has spotted the Snitch! She's diving down, but so is the Syltherin Seeker, John Morris. It's a race to the Snitch! They're reaching out their arms, they're getting closer…… and, I don't believe it! Alden has caught the Golden Snitch! Gryffindor's won two hundred and ten to forty!"

The stadium erupted with cheers. Everyone was screaming and clapping for Gryffindor, even the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs. The Syltherins were booing but not in a mean way. The animosity between the houses was no where near as bad it was, now it was more like slightly-less-than-friendly-competitions between Gryffindor and Syltherin and not an all out war.

Hermione and Neville high fived and she turned to Draco and laughed. He looked like he was trying to scowl and be angry with her but just couldn't be. She could see a tiny smile creeping up his face.

"We won! Looks like you're going to have to join S.P.E.W.!" Hermione laughed.

Draco sighed and mocked rolled his eyes. Hermione felt so warm inside. She had never seen Draco this at ease with himself and his surroundings. He seemed so comfortable.

Everyone packed up and went on their way. Hermione and Draco stuck around until the arena was empty.

"That was such a good game! I've never enjoyed a Quidditch game like that before!" Hermione was still high on the excitement.

"That was just kids playing. You should see a real game sometime. The Wimbourne Wasps are playing Puddlemere United in London this summer. Maybe you would want to go." Draco looked out into the pitch as he said this. Hermione felt her face heat up. Why was she blushing so much in front of him? And what did he mean when he asked her to the Quidditch game? Was it like a friend thing, or a date thing? But why would Draco Malfoy ever ask Hermione Granger on a date? And she was dating Ron! And he knew that so it was probably more a friendly outing than a date. She felt oddly disappointed with that thought. Horrified, Hermione realized that she had yet to answer him.

Draco was staring at her by now.

"Uh, yeah. That sounds like so much fun. But I don't really know all that much about Quidditch. I barely got through this game and only because I stayed up half the night studying." Hermione admitted.

"Quidditch is not something you can learn through books! You have get on a broomstick and figure it out in the air!" Draco sounded so much like Ron and Harry, she almost laughed out loud.

"Come on, I'll show you." Draco grabbed her hand and dragged her down the grassy playing pitch.

Hermione knew she shouldn't, but she liked the feel of Draco's big hand around hers.

"Madame Hooch, can we play with the balls for a little while? I promise we'll put them away when we're done." Draco said the Quidditch captain as she was cleaning up. She nodded and left.

"Draco, I don't think this is a good idea." Hermione said nervously.

"I think it is." He smirked at her. "Accio my Firebolt and the Nimbus Two Thousand and One." He stuck his wand into the sky and shouted.

"I-I don't know how to ride a broom, Draco!"

"It's okay. I got you the best broom from the school broom cupboard, a Nimbus Two Thousand and One. It's the latest broom the school has, so it should be safe."

Hermione didn't like the sound of 'should be".

The brooms arrived and Draco hopped on his Firebolt immediately. He flew off up higher and higher into the air until he was no more than a dark blot on the blue-white canvas that was the sky. He came closer to her and Hermione saw for the first time in her life, a full blown cheek-to-cheek smile on Draco Malfoy's face.

She gasped with delight and felt compelled by the smile to hop on her own broom. But once she was on it and in the air she knew she had made a mistake.

"Draco! I haven't been on a broom in thirteen years! What do I do?!" Hermione screamed, panicking. The broom was flying higher and higher without her telling it to.

"Just lean to the left if you want to go left and lean to the right if you want to go right. Lean down of you want to go down and up if you want to go up." Draco called to her.

Hermione tried to do what he said but the broom wasn't listening to her. She was now higher than Draco and was still going up. She fought the bubble of fear and panic that was rising in her chest and up her throat but she knew if she didn't get off this broom _right now _she would scream.

"DRACO!" Hermione screamed.

She could see him flying to her but her broom decided to speed up and now she was shooting higher into the sky.

Hot tears were flowing down her face. Stop! She silently begged the broom. It didn't listen to her. In fact, it did just the opposite of what she asked. One second Hermione thought she was going to die, and the next she _knew _she was going to die. The broom threw her off. Hermione was falling to her death.

She pulled out her wand and waved it to perform a hovering charm, but the wind pulled it from her grasp.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" The scream was ripped from her throat. She was falling faster and faster and faster. The ground was getting closer and closer. Hermione slammed her eyes shut.

"HERMIONE!" She heard Draco shout. He yelled something else, but the wind whistling in her ears carried his voice away.

She opened one eye and saw that she was level with the top of the stands. A sob escaped her lips and a tear trickled down her face. There was nothing she could do.

Hermione curled up into a ball just as she hit the ground. She flinched and landed on her knees. Surprisingly, she bounced off her knees, but crashed her head into the side of the bleachers. The last she remembered before she passed out was Draco landing his broom and running over to her.

**Chapter Seven: **

Hermione woke up with a splitting headache. She reached up to rub her forehead, but saw that her wrist was covered with a bandage. She sat up and looked around. She was in the Hospital Wing; it was mostly dark save for a couple of candles. It was obviously night time. Draco was fast asleep on a chair beside her bed. She couldn't help but smile at him. He looked about ten years younger when he was asleep. She moved to brush away a stray strand of hair from his face. She hissed softly as pain from moving sliced through her body.

Draco heard her small sound and woke up, "Oh, thank God you're awake!"

"What happened to me, Draco?" Hermione asked him.

The look of relief on his face vanished to be replaced by a scowl.

"You fell off you're broom and I couldn't get to you on time so I used the cushioning charm on the ground so it would be a soft landing. But something went wrong, and you bounced into the side of the stands. You broke your wrist and have a concussion. I'm so sorry, it's my entire fault!" Draco covered his face with his hands.

"How is it your fault?"

"I forced you onto the broom. It was jinxed or something. And I shouldn't have made you fly when you didn't know how. You could've died because of me!"

"Draco, you didn't make me get on the broom! I _wanted _too! It was an accident. No one is to blame." Hermione consoled him.

"Here's your wand back. You lost it during your fall." He handed her it.

"Oh, thank you! I thought I'd lost it!" Hermione said relieved.

"Professor Malfoy, is she awake?" Madame Pomfrey came out into the main room in her dressing gown and holding a tray with a candle and several bottles of potions on it.

"Yes, she's awake now." Draco called to the Matron.

"Don't know _what _they were thinking! I mean, really! Unsupervised Quidditch is a recipe for disaster!" Madam Pomfrey muttered to herself. Draco and Hermione shared a look.

"Okay, now get out, Professor. You said you just wanted to stay until she was awake, and she is. So, go! She needs her rest! She just fell over five hundred feet!" Madam Pomfrey shooed Draco from the room. He turned back and looked at Hermione one last time. She couldn't identify the emotions on his face. Relief, frustration, worry, and something else…..

"He's a nice boy. He stayed up half the night watching over you. I told him to go to bed, but he didn't listen to me. Drink this." Madam Pomfrey poured and icy liquid down Hermione's throat. Hermione coughed and sputtered.

"What is that stuff?" She gasped. It was like ice going down, but when it got down, it was like fire.

"It's to heal your bones. I couldn't give you anything while you were unconscious; I just bandaged your arm- oh speaking of that." The Matron pulled out her own wand and whispered a spell under her breath and tapped on Hermione's wrist. It felt hot for a second than completely normal.

"Thanks Madam Pomfrey. So I guess I can go back to my room now?" Hermione asked hopefully.

Madam Pomfrey just snorted and pushed Hermione back onto the bed. She blew out her candle and went back to her room.

"I'll take that as a 'no'." Hermione said aloud.

She rolled over in her bed. Even though her head felt like it was about to crack open, all she could think about was the fact that Draco stayed by her side to see her wake up. It made her heart fell very warm.

The next morning Madam Pomfrey reluctantly let Hermione leave. Not without much muttering about 'dangerous sports' and 'foolish young people'.

Hermione made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. As she passed by, the students started whispering. She frowned and hurried up. She passed a giggly Hufflepuff girl as she said, "I heard she fell from her broom and he used the cushioning charm to save her life than brought her to the Hospital Wing! It's so romantic! He like totally saved her life!"

Hermione grinned. Of course. They all thought that she and Draco were together. It was laughable really. There was no way that she and Draco could ever be like that!

She sat down next to Neville at the table, Draco hadn't gotten there yet.

"Are you okay, Hermione? I heard you fell off your broom from over a thousand feet in the air!" Neville's voice was rich with concern and worry.

"Oh, I'm fine, Neville. Just a broken wrist and a concussion, but Madam Pomfrey fixed me up in about a heartbeat. And it wasn't a thousand feet." She patted his arm comfortingly.

Draco walked into the room. It was funny how she seemed instantly aware of him. She wasn't even looking at the door, but when out of the corner of her eye she saw a blonde man walk in, her head snapped in that direction.

They made eye contact and he smiled. Another totally real smile. Not a cruel one or a mocking one or even a relieved one like when she first woke up last night. This was the same smile she saw on his face when he was flying on his Firebolt. A true blue totally happy smile.

She felt her eyes light up and she smiled back. She gestured to the seat next to her and he nodded. Neville, out of the corner of her eye she saw, was giving her a weird look.

Draco sat down next to her and she passed him the coffee.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her.

"I feel just fine. Okay, meet me today at lunch in the Library." Hermione passed him the bacon.

"Why?" He accepted the bacon.

"Because today is the first official meeting of S.P.E.W."

Draco groaned. Hermione bit back a smile.

At noon, Draco did arrive in the library to see Hermione sitting at her favorite table near the back surrounded by papers.

"Oh, good, you're here! Okay, I'm the President and Harry is the Secretary and Ron's the Treasurer. But you can be the Vice President if you want." Hermione offered.

"Like I'd want to be Vice President for a club as stupid as this." Draco scoffed.

"But that was the deal! You have to!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No, the deal was that I had to join it. Not be the Vice President." Draco smirked at her.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Draco Malfoy, this is a very real cause! House Elves are forced to do tasks that we could do ourselves! They have to wear only grungy pillowcases! And they don't even get any sick days!"

"There is an order to everything, Wizards are at the top, and House Elves are at the bottom. It's just the way things are, Hermione."

"How could you say that?! Don't you care about anyone but yourself? You are the most selfish, spoiled, arrogant prat I have ever met!" Hermione burst out.

"Are you done? I'm going to go get something to eat." Draco left.

A month past with Draco and Hermione barely on speaking terms. It was the beginning of December when Hermione burst into the bathroom one frigid morning.

"I have an idea!" She exclaimed. Draco was in there brushing his teeth. He spit out the toothpaste and looked warily at her.

"I'm afraid to ask." He said.

"I'm going to take you down to the kitchens to show you how the House Elves are enslaved! And since today's a Saturday, you have no excuse not to!" Hermione said.

"How about this one: I don't want to." Draco went back to washing his face.

"No. Get dressed and meet me in front of our rooms." Hermione turned and went back into her own room.

Ten minutes later Draco and Hermione were on their way to the kitchens. She couldn't help but smirk. Just be firm with men and they'd do anything you want them to.

They stop in front of the painting of the bowl of fruit.

"What now?" Draco drawled.

"You just tickle the pear like this, and the painting opens and we can go inside." Hermione smiled and walked through, followed by a very reluctant Draco.

"Hello!" Hermione said. Instantly, they were both surrounded by House Elves offering them food and seats.

"Thanks for bringing me here, 'Mione!" Draco teased as a small elf offered to rub his feet.

"No, no! Don't you all wish you could be paid, or get to have time off? Don't you want equal treatment like Wizards?" Hermione said to the elves.

The House Elves eyes narrowed. The started muttering and pushing them through the door.

"I'm going to have to remember the entrance." Draco said to himself.

"Do you see what I mean? It's so unfair that that's what they think they want!" Hermione cried passionately.

"Oh, calm down, Granger." Draco said as he licked a bit of cream from his finger. The House Elves were very generous with the sweets they gave out. Hermione, of course, refused to have any.

"I can't calm down when I know that someone's being treated unfairly!"

She stamped her foot and Draco's expression was a mixture of amusement and respect.

"Okay, here's the deal. I'll help you knit those hats you always hide around, if you stop trying to make me wear those stupid buttons."

Hermione half smiled at him and shook his hand.

**Chapter Eight: **

It was snowing hard outside the Great Hall when McGonagall stood up and made an announcement, "The night before Christmas Break starts, we will be having another Yule Ball. It is for Fourth Years and older and you must dress nicely."

The room buzzed with excited chatter. After the dinner, Hermione went back up to her room and wrote a letter to Ron, Harry and Ginny. They were all coming up to spend Christmas at Hogwarts, but Hermione wrote to tell them to come a little earlier for the dance. McGonagall had already given her permission.

Their return letters arrived back the next day. They were all excited and were counting down the days. The weeks past and the castle was alive with spirit.

Hermione saw a shy boy ask a pretty girl to the dance in the library. When the girl said yes, Hermione smiled at them. It was so like when she was in Fourth Year and Ron and Harry were working up the courage to ask a girl to the dance.

The night before the dance Hermione could hardly sleep, after months of missing him, she would get to see Ron again!

She spent three hours in the bathroom before the dance, much to Draco's frustration.

"Hermione Granger! If you do not open this door _right now _I will burn it down! I have to get ready too!" He would scream.

She would tell him to get lost and come back in an hour or so. He would just stand there and scream and bang on the door until she did a silencing charm that Harry taught her.

Eventually, he just gave up and went to get ready somewhere else. The dance was due to start in fifteen minutes when Hermione left the bathroom. She went out to the hall in front of their doors where Draco was waiting for her. She sort of gasped a little bit. He looked so handsome! He was wearing black dress robes and a white tie. He looked so elegant and regal and important!

She was so busy noticing _him _she didn't notice him noticing _her. _She was wearing a deep blue floor length gown. It was strapless and puffed out around her hips and downwards. Hermione's favorite part was the dress was that is was covered in tiny diamonds. More at the top and getting farther and farther apart the farther down the dress went.

"Wow." He murmured. "You look so beautiful!" The words seemed like they slipped out, because he turned bright red and tore his eyes away from her.

"Thanks. You look great, Draco." Hermione nervously patted down her super smooth hair. She spent forever in the bathroom concocting the straight hair potion. Her hair was up with one loose curl hanging around the side of her face.

"Er, shall we go then?" She asked. It wasn't like they were going _together _it was just that they decided to go down together because their rooms were right next to each other. And that was it.

He nodded. The walked down in silence. Hermione almost tripped on her high heels and would have fallen down the stairs if Draco hadn't grabbed her elbow at the last second. He sort of left his hand on her elbow, but then gradually slid his arm through hers.

They entered the Great Hall to see it looking like it snowed in there. Every surface was covered in realistic fake snow. There was twinkling fairies flitting around and small tables with candles on them spread around the back of the room. There was a stage set up at the front where a band was playing a Christmas song. Hagrid had dragged in a massive Christmas tree and it was decorated beautifully.

"Do you want to dance?" Neville came up to Hermione and asked. He looked really nice in grey dress robes and a red tie. Hermione and him went out onto the dance floor and danced to the quick beat the band was playing. Neville was a terrible dancer but it was fun and soon Hermione had danced with every adult man in the room. Except one.

'Can I have this dance, 'Mione?" Draco asked her.

She took his hand and he led her onto the dance floor. The band started playing a slower tune and everyone grabbed a partner and suddenly the floor was covered with swirling woman with pretty dresses and handsome men dressed in their finest.

Draco was a great dancer and Hermione found herself dancing closer to him than what was probably appropriate. She leaned her head back to look at the enchanted ceiling. It was a cloudless night and the many stars and constellations were clearly visible.

"Hey, look at the sky!" She glanced back at him and saw that he was looking at her in a new way. She saw his eyes flit down to her lips then back to her eyes. Hermione felt her heart speed up and butterflies fly around in her stomach. The way he was looking at her scared her a little. But then she found herself leaning up towards him and him leaning down towards her.

Her breath caught in her throat as the song hit its crescendo. Draco's face was close enough that she could feel his breath. He looked as scared as she felt, but there was something in his eyes that she also felt. Something just so _right. _

Their lips touched and it felt like she was being electrocuted. Every fiber in her being was aware of the contact between him and her. She felt her arms tighten around him and her fingers run through his soft hair. One of his hands was pressed against her lower back. Her skin felt ice cold except for her lips was burning red hot.

She felt rather than heard him moan. She didn't know Draco could kiss like this. The kiss was deepening, becoming more and more passionate. They probably could have carried on like this forever but a distant giggle brought Hermione crashing back to reality.

She pulled away from him so fast he stumbled a little from leaning over her. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking. She was kissing someone other than Ron. Ron her boyfriend. She was kissing Draco Malfoy in the middle of the Great Hall. She was kissing the boy who made her and her friends lives hell for seven years. _In the middle of the Great Hall._ She was never one for PDA; she felt that a kiss should be private and intimate. And here she was making out with someone other than her boyfriend in front of hundreds of students. Her thoughts came to her scattered and unorganized. She was still a little woozy from the kiss with Draco.

Speak of the devil, he was staring at her. She took one look at him and ran from the room. He chased after her and grabbed her arm.

"'Mione, wait! I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that, but I couldn't resist." He told her pleadingly.

She felt the tears well up in her eyes and shook her head, "Ron's coming any minute now, Draco. I would appreciate it if you did not tell what just happened between us. I would like to pretend it didn't happen." She told him quietly.

He looked as if she had slapped him. He glared at her in disgust than stalked off to his room.

She stopped the tears from falling and smoothed back her hair. She plastered on a big fake smile and waited by the door for Ron, Ginny and Harry.

They arrived only a few minutes later. Ron bended down to kiss her but she turned her face at the last minute so he was only kissing her cheek. Harry also kissed her cheek and Hermione hugged Ginny.

"Wow, you look great, Gin!" Hermione said to her best girl friend. Ginny was wearing a slim fitting floor length strapless green dress. Her fiery red hair was piled on top of her head with a few pieces hanging loose.

"Thank you, you too!" Ginny beamed at Hermione then glanced at Harry and Hermione got the funny feeling that there was something they weren't telling her.

"Okay, what is it?" Hermione asked.

Ginny took a deep breath then exclaimed, "I'm pregnant!"

"You're – you're what?" Hermione cried.

"She's pregnant! I'm going to be a dad!" Harry cried with excitement.

"Oh my God! Congratulations!" Hermione hugged them both. She knew they would be the best parents in the world.

"How pregnant are you?" Hermione asked.

"Five months!" Ginny was pink cheeked and glassy eyed with excitement.

"I'm so happy for you!" Hermione said sincerely. She knew it was only a matter of time before Ginny got pregnant. She did after all grow up with seven kids in her house. And Harry was an only child so Hermione figured he would also want a lot of kids.

Hermione smiled at both of them and her joy for them almost made her forget about Draco.

"Can we dance now?" Ron asked. They all went out onto the dance floor. Harry was telling anyone who would listen about Ginny. And Ron and Neville were discussing the new design for _The Quibbler. _

It felt like old times being back at Hogwarts with her friends. But all too soon it was midnight, and like Cinderella, the party was over for them.

Ginny and Harry were staying in the Guest Wing and Ron was staying with Hermione.

They got back to her room to see Ron's trunk already there. He opened it to reveal a bottle of Firewhiskey and two glasses.

"Want some?" He asked her.

She couldn't help but think of Draco when she looked at the bottle, he was with her when she had her first drink of Firewhiskey.

"Um, maybe later. I'm going to change into my pajamas." She told him. He looked a little confused but smiled at her anyways.

She was in the bedroom when she heard his surprised yelp. She ran back out, now in her PJs, to see Ron standing wide-eyed by the door to her bathroom.

"Hermione, why is there a bouncing ferret in your bathroom?" He asked her, his voice shaking.

Draco followed him out, a cruel smirk on his face. "What? You didn't tell him about us?"

Hermione felt her heart sink. So, he was going to act like that.

"There's nothing to tell. McGonagall is making us share an adjoining bathroom to force us to get along." Hermione said would-be calmly.

"Crazy Old Bat actually thought that would work." Draco scoffed.

"Don't call Professor McGonagall crazy!" Ron said tensely to him. Ron was intensely loyal.

"She is crazy to hire Little Miss Mudblood over there. The brat has done nothing but sits around the library, make hats and fall from broomsticks." Draco said snidely.

Hermione couldn't look him in the eyes. It was like the past four months had never happened. He was acting like the snobby, aristocratic son of a Deatheater again.

Ron's ears were bright red. "_Don't _call Hermione a mudblood! You foul, evil, murdering- wait- what do you mean 'fall from broomsticks'?"

A cruel laughed burst from Draco's lips, "You mean she didn't tell you? No, I guess she wouldn't. You stubborn Gryffindors always think you can do everything by yourself. But not this time, huh Granger? You needed me to save you."

By this time, Ron was positively shaking. He looked torn between fighting back with Draco and asking about the broomstick incident.

"Leave it alone, Draco! It happened a long time ago and I'm fine! Stop trying to start a fight!" Hermione snapped at him.

"He – saved – you?" Ron spat out.

"Yes, she would be dead if it weren't for me. You're in my debt, Granger." Cold silver eyes flashed over her and she flinched.

"I wouldn't be in your debt if you hadn't forced me onto the broom in the first place!" Hermione cried. Okay, that was a low blow. She saw Draco wince and regret bloomed in her heart. She shouldn't have said that.

"Learn to respect your superiors, mudblood." Draco said before he was slammed against the wall. Ron had his wand out and pointed towards Draco.

Draco stood up and pulled his own wand out.

"Stop it! Stop it now! I thought you both have grown up?" This was my entire fault. Hermione thought bitterly.

"Get out of the way." Draco snapped at her. Hermione took this as a good sign. Before, he would have just blasted her as well as Ron.

"Move Hermione." Ron never took his eyes away from Draco. They were both glaring at each other with their wands pointed. Hermione was afraid they'd kill each other.

"No! I'm not making you two get along but if you weren't trying to kill each other in my living room that would be really nice!"

Draco looked at Hermione and then back at Ron. "You're not worth it, weasel." He looked into Hermione's eyes then went back into his own room. Hermione felt her knees weaken. He had stopped for her.

"He always was crazy. How can you stand it?" Ron muttered. He put his pajamas on and tramped around the room murmuring things about Draco like 'Always was a nutter.' And 'Blood obsessed git.'

Hermione just sat on the couch in shock. She was pretty sure her mouth was open but didn't care for a bigger thought was occupying her mind. First, Draco kissed her, then he resisted fighting with (and perhaps killing) his enemy. For her. Did Draco like her? And did she like him back?

**Chapter Nine: **

The next day, most of the kids left. It was pretty empty around the castle, just the way they liked it. Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione had the run of the school. Neville had left to be with Hannah. Draco stayed out of their way after the disastrous first night.

It was just after breakfast on the last day of the Christmas Break. Harry, Ginny and Ron were checking out the Quidditch pitch. Hermione, who had no desire to go anywhere near that place ever again, stayed in the Library.

She was sorting out the books when she heard an obnoxious voice say, "Where's Scarhead and his gang of merry followers?"

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." Hermione snapped, not bothering to turn around.

"Oh, I'm crushed. I thought we were on a first name basis." He laughed meanly.

"Leave me alone! I'm not in the mood for your games!"

"Well, you seemed in the mood for my 'games' last week at the dance."

She whirled around angrily, "I thought I told you never to mention that ever again!"

"You're not the boss of me Granger! I just came in to tell you that I wasn't in my right mind that night, because there is no way that I'd ever kiss you if I was, you filth!" Draco's words were like a slap to the face. He intended them to hurt and they did. Hermione prepared her own verbal weapons.

"You think everyone wants to kiss you, and you couldn't be more wrong! Our whole time at school nobody liked you! They just pretended to because they were afraid of your Deatheater daddy! You always threatened with your father, 'Wait 'til I tell my father about this!' or, 'My father won't be pleased!'. And now that's gone, what are you going to do now, you conceited piece of shit?!"

They were both breathing heavily by the time she finished speaking. They were bright red in the face and glaring at each other so heavily, they didn't notice a person standing just by the door.

"You guys kissed?" Ron asked, shocked and hurt.

"N-no! Ron, it was just……" Hermione stuttered.

"Did you or did you not kiss him, Hermione? Because from the way you were talking, it kind of seemed like you did." Ron's blue eyes were filled with pain.

"We didn't Ron!"

"Actually we did, Weasley. It was alright, nothing special, but then again, she is a mudblood. Funny thing is it was right before you came the first night. Yeah, while you were riding in a carriage up to the castle, I was making out with your girl. And she kissed me back." Draco cruelly said.

Tears were pouring down Hermione's face and she could see that Ron's eyes were looking a little bit wet as well. She couldn't believe Draco could be this cruel. This was low, even for him.

"Ron, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Ron!" Hermione sobbed.

"No, I'm sorry. For trusting a mudblood like you." Ron's voice was ice cold and Hermione had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop the scream/gasp from escaping.

With those final words, Ron left the room in a flurry pain and anger. Hermione slid down to the floor and succumbed to the tears. She literally shook from crying. She rocked back in forth with her hand in front of her mouth. This pain was terrible; she had never felt anything like it before. Ron had never called her the 'M' word before. It was like a knife through her heart.

"I-I'm sorry……. Hermione. I didn't mean to be that cruel. I was just….. angry." Draco said nervously.

"Get out of my sight." Hermione managed to whisper.

"Hermione!"

"I said I never want to see you again! I'm demanding that McGonagall switch my room and if you ever come near me again, I'll curse you into oblivion!" Hermione whispered through her gritted teeth. He shot her one more look she couldn't figure out, and then just left. Hermione curled up into the fetal position and just cried.

A little while later Harry and Ginny came to her. They both wore looks of disappointment and anger.

"You kissed Draco Malfoy. You cheated on Ron." Harry stated.

Anger was rolling off of him in waves. Hermione couldn't look at either of them. Harry was Ron's best friend and Ginny was Ron's sister. She was so ashamed of herself; she didn't even get off the floor.

"I know you must hate me, and I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen, I don't like Draco or anything, I only love Ron." Hermione told them quietly. She looked up to see Harry open his mouth, probably to say another angry retort but Ginny shushed him. She lowered herself onto the floor and just hugged Hermione. Hermione was so shocked she let out a fresh set out tears. The two girls sat on the floor and cried together until they were both out of tears.

"Why are you crying?" Hermione said with a watery laugh.

"I have no idea. Whenever I see somebody crying, I just start crying too! It's my stupid hormones! I hate being pregnant!" True enough, Ginny's eyes grew wet again.

Harry sat down and wiped them away, he brushed her red hair away from her red eyes and turned to face Hermione.

"I know Ron called you a you-know-what." He said to her.

Ginny gasped.

Hermione avoided his wise eyes. "How did you hear about that?"

"Malfoy told me. He said he Ron called you that and that you were crying and probably needed a friend." Harry said.

"That was surprisingly nice of the little ferret." Ginny said. Hermione said nothing at all. Guilt was worming its way through her heart; she was a total B-word for saying the awful things she said to him.

Hermione sniffled and stood up, swaying only slightly.

"I have to apologize to him. I was totally out of line." She said to her friends.

They both nodded and said, "I think we're going to go home early anyways. This visit seems to be over."

Hermione went up to her room and they went to the Guests' Apartments to pack.

When Hermione pushed open her door, she was overcome with the sweet smell of flowers. Her eyes landed on a bouquet of white roses on the table beside the couch. There was a note attached and it said:

_I am truly sorry. _

_-D. _

**Chapter Ten: **

Hermione couldn't talk to Draco. She had no idea what to say to him. She was filled with anger and hurt and confusion. He approached her many times, but each time she just brushed him off. After a while, he just stopped trying. It was months before they spoke again.

Even though she wasn't speaking to Draco, she was speaking to Professor Wilde. Not by choice, though. Whenever she was alone, he would come up to her and ask her about Draco. About why they weren't talking, about the kiss and sometimes what she thought of him. He confused her and twisted her answers so she tried not to talk to him. But she always caught him watching her.

Around Easter she got a short letter from Ron saying he was sorry about what he said to her but he didn't want to get back together. The hole in her heart was slowly filling, and she felt almost human again. Ever since Christmas, it was like she couldn't breathe all the time. She was slowly and quietly getting over Ron.

She was closing up the Library and shooing out the students in there when a shadow fell beside her. The shadow was tall and slim and when it started talking, she knew who it was.

"How are you?" Draco asked her.

"I'm fine. You know same old, same old. I got a letter from Ron the other day." Her voice sounded unnaturally squeaky.

"I know. I, er, saw it in your bag." He said awkwardly.

She spun around and almost sounded angry, but not quite, "Have you been snooping in my stuff?"

"I was just worried about you."

"Right, like Draco Malfoy would ever be worried about _me. _I'm just a mudblood, remember?!"

"Don't call your self that."

"Why not? You do!" She snapped.

"I was……. wrong. I'm sorry, 'Mione."

She froze. Could he mean it? Was he serious?

"I was just….. jealous." He muttered.

"Of – of what?" It was like she had just entered the Twilight Zone. Nothing was making any sense anymore.

"Of Weasley. I just... I don't know. When I kissed you, I felt…" He sounded frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair and looked the other way.

"Oh!" She said, surprised. She was about to add that she felt something as well, when certain teacher interrupted.

"Oh, excuse me! I hope I'm not interrupting something!" Professor Wilde said with a smirk.

She felt Draco stiffen beside and scowl at the Professor. "Actually you were, and the Library is closed."

"Well, I guess I'll just come back tomorrow. I'll leave you two alone now." He winked at Hermione and she shuddered.

When she was sure that he was gone she said in an undertone to Draco, "He's been following me around all week. He keeps talking to me about you. I don't know what he wants."

Draco's face paled and he stared urgently into Hermione's brown eyes, "You have to stay away from him. Promise me, please!"

"I-I promise, why?" Hermione asked.

He shook his head at her. She sighed; it was obvious he was going to say no more.

"Oh, this is for you! I bought it for you for Christmas, but you know…. we weren't speaking…" He finished awkwardly.

He handed her a small package and she opened it to reveal a delicate silver chain with a topaz teardrop style pendant on it.

"Oh, Draco! This is beautiful!" She put it on and smiled at him. Ron had never given her jewelry before, so this was the first time a man has ever given her something like this.

"I thought it matched your eyes. And I think you should wear it all the time. Like, even when you're asleep and when you're showering or something." Draco said. He was being extra strange today. She just nodded in a confused sort of way and his face broke out in a sunny smile.

He carried her bag for her back to her room like a true gentle man.

"Goodnight Draco. Oh, and thank you for the flowers at Christmas. They were lovely." She took her bag back from her and they went their separate ways. They were still sharing the bathroom. Hermione felt happier than she had in months. Her heart was beating double time and her stomach had million butterflies in it. Was Draco aware of the strange effect he had on her? What was it, anyways?

And that began the odd friendship of Draco and Hermione. They would eat their meals together, sometimes with Neville. And he would pick her up from the Library in the evenings. They would go for walks around the lake together, and visited Hogsmeade as a pair. They fought like cats and dogs but nothing serious. And if, perchance, the fight was bad enough that Hermione slammed the door in his face, he would just magically send her white roses with an 'I'm sorry' note attached. She put up with his arrogance and he put up with her stubbornness. But whenever he smiled at her (because he was doing that a lot lately) she would get really flustered and blush like crazy.

On a warm, sunny day during exams, Draco burst into the Library and shocked a snoozing Hermione off her chair.

"Hermione!" He exclaimed.

"Shouldn't you be giving a DADA exam?" She said from the floor. He helped her up.

"Nope! Just finished! And what are you doing sleeping on the job?" He teased.

"I was up late last night writing a letter to Ginny and Harry. Although little James Sirius is only two months old, he is already a troublemaker. He is going to be just like his namesakes." Hermione said fondly.

"Yeah well, I was just finishing up on the exam and I had this brilliant idea! We should have a picnic!" He shouted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I can't. I have to stay at the Library until eight, and I thought I would keep it open longer for the students who still have exams." Hermione said.

"Well, not today Granger! Today we're going on an adventure!"

She rolled her eyes at him. There was no point in arguing with him, he was too stubborn.

"Alright, pack up your things. Professor Malfoy is making me have a picnic with him." Hermione called out.

She couldn't miss the knowing smiles and pointed looks between the students. There were only a few students in there and Hermione blushed when they looked at her and Draco and started whispering.

When they all left Draco grabbed her hand and said, "Let's go!" He grabbed his basket from beside him on the floor and he dragged her out onto the Great Lawn. They found a secluded corner behind a couple birch trees and he laid out the blanket.

"You know Draco this is really sweet." Hermione said.

He passed her a bottle of Butterbeer and a treacle tart. They sat and chatted in the afternoon sun for hours. It was only when the sun was setting and they were out of food, did Hermione realize how long they had been out there.

"We really should be going in now." She said.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her back down, "Not yet." He whispered.

They sky was now a brilliant shade of red. The sun was one huge fireball as it sunk into the earth. Draco was still holding her hand. They laid on their backs and just stared at the sky and it's reflection on the lake.

The sun was almost down and the first stars were appearing when Draco leaned back revealing the ugly black mark on his arm. Hermione reached over and traced her finger along the edges of the skeleton and snake. He hissed and pulled his arm away.

"I'm sorry." Hermione said. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, it only hurts when he touches it." Draco whispered.

Hermione was quiet for a minute then asked, "Do you regret joining him?"

"Every day." Draco said quietly.

She thought he would say no more but he continued, "The things he made us do…. it's just….. he would kill people with a smile on his face. And he would expect the same from us. Most of the others could do it…. but not me. Muggles, small children, wizards who weren't carrying a wand. People who were no danger to him were wiped out. It was scary. I was scared even being in the same room as him. You must thing I'm pretty weak, huh?" Draco said ashamed.

"No." Hermione said firmly. "Fear does not make us weak. I think you're brave. And strong. You were hesitant when we were in your manor, you didn't give us away but let your family do it. You could though, you knew it was me and Harry and Ron. And I saw your face when I was being tortured. You were going to lower your wand against Dumbledore back in sixth year. You have all the makings of being a hero; you just grew up on the wrong side of the war."

"Thank you." He whispered.

There was just enough light for Hermione to see the burning red his cheeks had turned. She knew how much this cost him to say, he was always so proud.

She knew he wouldn't want her to make a big deal about it, so she just squeezed his hand. He squeezed her hand back.

"I'm really glad we became friends this year, Draco." Hermione told him sincerely.

"Friends?" He repeated in a strangled whisper. "I don't think of you as my friend."

Hermione's heart jumped up into her throat. "Then what do you think of me as?"

He was quiet for a minute then took a deep breath and said, "I'm not sure, but I think that I l-"

A twig snapping cut him off.

"It's really late, let's go in now." He said then muttered a spell to pack up the basket and the blanket. Hermione felt slightly disappointed. What was he going to say?

They walked back to the school in silence. He held the door open for her and helped her through. On the other side of the door was a very annoyed Headmistress.

"Where have you two been all evening? I didn't expect you, Ms. Granger, to be the kind to shirk your responsibilities! You are the Librarian! You were supposed to be in the Library! That was totally irresponsible! And you! You have a class to watch! Even if you finished giving the exam, you still have to mark it! I don't know _what _you were thinking! It's not safe to wander the grounds at night! If you were still students I'd say that would be twenty points from each of your houses!" McGonagall continued her tirade in a manner totally resembling Mrs. Weasley.

Hermione had to bite the inside of her cheek to stifle her laughter. Every time Professor McGonagall would turn around, Draco would cross his eyes or stick out his tongue. At one point when Draco was doing a hilarious, but accurate, imitation of Professor McGonagall and she turned around so suddenly he didn't have time to go back to normal. Hermione almost burst out laughing at the expression on both of their faces.

Draco looked embarrassed and ashamed and McGonagall looked shocked and angry.

Hermione knew it was wrong to disrespect a teacher, but she couldn't help it. A tiny giggle escaped her. They both turned to her and she blushed. Draco smiled at her, and she glowed, it felt like.

"Well, alright. Make sure you set a better example for the children in the future." Than McGonagall did something she rarely ever did, she smiled.

As soon as they were out of her earshot, Draco whispered to Hermione, "Did she just smile?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Weird."

"I know."

**Chapter Eleven: **

The next morning went as it usually did, Draco, Hermione had breakfast together. The Neville and Draco went to their classes and Hermione went to the library. Today was the last day for exams, and the general mood in the air was very excited.

Hermione was cleaning up the Library, locking up the Restricted Section, tidying up the study area. In a few days, they would all be leaving for home. She stiffened, hearing footsteps by the door, expecting Professor Wilde but was pleasantly surprised by Professor McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor!" Hermione said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Ms. Granger. I came to ask you a question, excuse me if it's too personal, but are you and Draco Malfoy together?" McGonagall asked.

Hermione just blinked. Then a few seconds later, she chuckled. "No, no we're not like that. We're just friends."

But she couldn't help but rethink her answer. Draco _did _say he didn't think of her as a friend. Then he was about to say something else. If Hermione was hoping for a _certain _answer does that mean she doesn't think of Draco as a friend either? The picnic, the walks, the flowers, spending every waking minute together, its things couples do. But…. her and Draco weren't a couple. Did she want them to be a couple? Did _he _want them to be a couple?

McGonagall looked a little awkward after that.

"I'm sorry for being so forward then. It's just that… I saw the way he looked at you, and I thought you were looking back. Excuse me." And then she turned for the door. As she was leaving she said, "My only love was a man I thought I hated. I was too stubborn to admit my feelings for him and he eventually moved on to someone else. I just don't want that to happen to you and Mr. Malfoy."

The rest of the day Hermione was left pondering everything McGonagall said. Around eight at night, she left the library and wandered around the school. Eventually, she went out to the grassy area where she and Draco had their picnic. The grass still had dents and impressions in it from where the blanket was and everywhere they walked.

She sat down and ran her hands over a larger footprint in the dirt that was Draco's and suddenly she knew. She was in love him. She, Hermione Granger of the Golden Trio was in love with Draco Malfoy, the former Death Eater. It was strange but true. The realization filled her up with heat. She felt like laughing all of a sudden. If someone told her even last year that she was going to fall in love with a Malfoy, she would have said never in a million years. But everything made sense now. Why she blushed when he smiled at her, why her heart felt like flying when he touched her, the butterflies in her stomach. Her heart beat only for him.

And somewhere deep inside her felt that Draco loved her back. What he was going to say to her was that he loved her. She felt drunk with happiness. She needed for him to tell her, to confirm what she hoped.

She ran, practically skipped up to his classroom. The door was open a little and she could hear two voices inside. It was Draco and her least favorite Professor. They were both angry, but not yet yelling.

"Answer my question, boy! I said do you love the girl?" Wilde's voice snapped like a whip.

"I don't know what girl you mean." Draco's voice was steely.

"That muggleborn girl, Hermione Granger! Do you love her?!"

"No. How could I ever love such filth?" Draco's voice was ice cold. Hermione gasped. She felt tears fill her eyes and she ran back to her room.

She was so sure. She was so _sure! _But he was right, he was a pureblood and she was a filthy mudblood, how could they ever work together? It felt like something was squeezing her lungs, it was getting hard to breathe. Her face felt hot and blotchy. Tears were flowing freely from her eyes and sliding into her lips. The taste of saltwater was in her mouth. She was humiliated and angry.

She looked in the mirror to see you hair a frizzy mess, her eyes bloodshot, her skin blotchy and her skin pale. The only thing perfect in her reflection was the necklace he had given her. It seemed to mock her. While she was a mess, it remained flawless. She ripped it from her throat and threw it against the mirror. Nothing, of course, happened. She screamed and cried at the same time and it came out like a choking, gasping sort of sound. She put a sound protection charm around her whole apartment; she would _not _let him hear her cry. Suddenly, all the strength was taken from her body. She was so exhausted. She curled up on her bed and cried herself to sleep.

It was the middle of the night when she awoke. Her throat felt scratchy from crying so much, so she decided to get a glass of water from the kitchens. She knew it was wrong, but maybe if there was still a house elf down there at this hour, she'd ask one of them to make her a hot chocolate.

She tiptoed through the almost pitch black halls towards the kitchen when a shadow stepped out from behind a suit of armor.

It was a man, he lifted his wand and just before he said the spell, Hermione cried, "You!"

Then everything went black.

**Chapter Twelve:**

The world slowly came into focus. The first thing she saw was a tree. _That's strange. _She thought. Because, really? What was a tree doing inside Hogwarts? And that's when she realized she wasn't even in Hogwarts! She was in the Forbidden Forest. She reached for her wand to get some light, but couldn't find it. The panic was now settling in. She was alone at night in the Forbidden Forest without a wand. She stood up and turned around to see a blonde man tied to a very large tree. He did not look happy.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked, shocked. Why were they both here against their will? Suddenly she remembered the person to stupefy her and bring her here. Ignatius Wilde.

"Okay, where are you? I know you're here somewhere!" Hermione called out into the darkness.

"Run, Hermione! Go back to the castle! Quickly! Before he comes back!" Draco hissed at her.

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" She said childishly to him.

"Why not? Look, we'll talk later. Go back to the castle!" He sounded truly panicked and that worried Hermione slightly. She was just about to heed his advice and go back when she heard a voice say, "Too late!"

She froze. Wilde stepped out from behind a tree and she heard Draco groan from behind her.

"Hello you two. What's up?"

"Why did you bring us here?" Hermione snapped.

"Good question, Hermione. You really are the brightest witch of your age." He ran a finger over Hermione's cheek and she shuddered.

"Don't touch her!" She heard Draco yell from behind her.

"So protective. That's an admirable quality, Draco. But it won't help you here." Wilde sneered.

"Why are we here?!" Hermione asked again.

"Eight years ago my wife was murdered. By _his _father!" He pointed a long finger at Draco.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed.

"My wife and I didn't take sides during the war. We lived a quiet life, until hers was ended. I have spent the last eight years seeking revenge. I was planning on killing your mother. He killed my wife, I'll kill his. It was fair. Until the fool died. Then I thought of the young master Malfoy. My revenge could be passed down to him. But he wasn't married or had a girlfriend so I was stuck for a while. When I got here I saw that you two were spending a lot of time together. I thought that you were in love. So I tried to kill you, Ms Granger." Wilde continued on calmly.

"You – you tried to kill me?" Hermione felt faint.

"I jinxed your broom so it would throw you off, I hoped you would die. But Draco rescued you. I was planning what to do next when you got in that fight. You weren't speaking for months. I didn't want to kill Hermione if you didn't love her, Draco. Then, to my satisfaction, you got back together again. I heard you down by the lake. I have an invisibility cloak and I accidentally stepped on a twig right when I was sure that Malfoy was going to confess his love. I then decided I wanted to kill you myself. Not like the broom which would have made your death look like an accident. Now, Ms Granger, prepare to die." Wilde raised his wand and pointed towards Hermione. She felt her heart stop with fear.

"Wait! I don't love her!" Draco cried.

Great. Just great. The last thought she was going to have before she died was that the man she was in love with didn't love her back.

"Oh? You don't love her? Then it won't bother you if I do this?" Wilde casually said.

Hermione felt her body rip apart with pain. He didn't say the spell aloud but he didn't have to. She knew it was the Cruciotus Curse. She was twitching and writhing on the ground in agony. It felt like her bones were on fire. Tears were pouring down her face and screams filled her throat. Oh, God this was bad. End it! Kill me if it stops the pain! Just kill me! She silently begged.

Dimly, she was aware of another person screaming as well.

"STOP IT! STOP IT, WILDE! OH MY GOD! HERMIONE! I'M SORRY! I LOVE YOU! GET AWAY FROM HER! PLEASE!" Draco was screaming.

Wilde was laughing, with a cruel, mocking grin on his face. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he stopped. Hermione didn't move from the ground. She gasped for breath.

"How does it feel Malfoy? How does it feel to watch the woman you love go through that kind of pain? Did you know that your father used the Cruciotis Curse on my wife for an hour straight? And I'm just getting started." He hissed through his teeth.

"He doesn't love me." Hermione whispered.

"What did you say girl?" Wilde said.

"I said Draco doesn't love me. I heard you and him talking in his office. He said he could never love such filth. I'm filth." She whispered. She was surprised that the fact that Draco didn't love her hurt more than the curse.

"That's not true. I love you, Hermione. I just said that so he would stay away from you. But it didn't work. I'm so sorry. I love you." Draco said to her. She turned her head to face him. "Really?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered. She couldn't move from the ground, it hurt way to much, but with Draco's love, her heart now didn't feel as bruised and battered and burnt out as the rest of her body. It almost felt whole.

Wilde applauded in a mocking sort of way. "Awww! Isn't that _sweet? _True love concurs all, huh? Well, not this time. _Avada Ked-" _

Hermione flinched, prepared for the curse to hit her body, but she wasn't prepared for Wilde to suddenly fall forwards. His wand shot out of his hand and landed near Hermione. She sat in shock as a Centaur came from just behind the area where Wilde used to be standing.

"Firenze?" Hermione said in complete shock. He stood above Wilde glaring menacingly.

"Hello, woman. You!" He said to Wilde as Wilde attempted to crawl towards his wand.

"I have heard what you were saying. You were trying to kill a defenseless innocent Human woman. Then a Human Man next probably. You are weak. To murder innocent young people is a terrible sin." Firenze looked huge from Hermione's spot on the ground and she was just glad that he wasn't glaring at her that way.

"It was retribution. It was deserved. You're a stupid mule, you wouldn't understand." Wilde whispered.

Hermione gasped. She heard Draco gasp as well. Firenze's eyes widened. It was just plain stupid for Wilde to say that when he was wandless and almost underneath Firenze's hooves. Wilde just stuck out his chin.

Firenze reared back and brought his hooves sharply down against Wilde's head. His eyes rolled back in his head and he fell against the muddy foliage that covered the ground. He didn't move.

"Did you….. kill him?" Hermione asked uncertainly. She hated Wilde and he did deserve to die, but death still made Hermione uneasy.

"I hope you did. And if you didn't, I would have killed him myself." Draco said viciously.

Hermione turned around to face Draco. She didn't disagree with him, but it was still a cold thing to say.

"He was going to kill you. He used an Unforgivable curse on you. That's enough to land him in Azkaban for life." He was looking at Wilde's still body with deep loathing.

"The man is not dead. I spared him because I do not want to lower myself onto his level. He needs to be brought to the castle and to the Dementors." Firenze said.

Hermione got up and only swayed a little, untied the ropes that were binding Draco with Wilde's wand. She then used a hovering charm on Wilde's body.

"I will let you ride on my back to the school, woman." Firenze said to Hermione.

"You will?" Hermione knew that Centaurs didn't let people ride on their backs ever.

"You are injured and weak. You do not have the strength to walk." He said sensibly.

"Thank you." Hermione said sincerely. She took a step towards him but stumbled. Her legs felt like jelly. A pair of strong arms caught her before she fell. She looked up into deep grey eyes and saw love in them.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. I love you. I've been in love with you since they Yule Ball back in fourth year. I just didn't realize it until this year. Do you forgive me for they way I acted?" Draco said.

"Yes! I love you too! Oh, Draco!" She leapt into his arms and kissed him. He held her tight against him and kissed her hard back. It was the best kiss of Hermione's life. Because it was a kiss from the man whom she loved and who loved her back. She wanted to keep kissing him forever but a little sound from Firenze made them stop.

"It is almost daylight. You should get back now." Draco helped Hermione onto the Centaurs back. He held her hand all the back to the castle with Wilde's body floating along behind them. Hermione looked into cool silver eyes and felt at total peace with the world. Nothing could harm her as long as Draco loved her.

**Chapter Thirteen: **

Hermione was packing her trunk on the last day of school; the train was due to come in a couple of hours. When had finished she leaned against the massive trunk and looked out the window. Why was ever year at Hogwarts more dramatic than the last? She wondered to herself.

The sun shifted behind the clouds and shone its light through her room. It made something on the floor glitter and catch Hermione's eye. It was the necklace Draco had given had given her. She had forgotten about it. She picked it up just as Draco burst into her room.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Just about." She answered. She put the necklace back on her neck.

"The necklace!" Draco exclaimed. "You're wearing it again! I thought that Wilde had taken it from you when he brought you to the forest!"

"No, I, ah, took it off after I overheard you and Wilde talking….." Hermione decided to skip the part where she burst into tears and threw it against the mirror.

Draco looked properly ashamed after that. He said, "It was actually a very strong protective charm. So that any spell or curse he cast on you would bounce off you and back onto him."

"Why did you think I needed a protective charm?" Hermione asked.

"I knew what my father did to his wife, so I sort of expected he would try something. At first I thought he would want to kill me, but after you kept telling me that he was following you I knew what he was going to do. I should have done a better job protecting you. I'm so sorry, 'Mione." Draco said.

"I forgive you. You _did _give me the necklace and it was my fault that I was foolish enough to take it off."

Draco leaned down and delicately kissed her.

"You know." He whispered. "I was thinking, would you maybe want to live with me during the summers? I mean, I still live in the manor with my mother, but we could have our own private wing. What do you say?"

Hermione grinned. "I say yes." She kissed his cheek.

His eyes lit up and she smiled.

"Come on, it's time to go." She said. He made their trunks lift behind them magically and Hermione grabbed the little bag of floo powder.

The kids would be boarding the train right now, but like always, the teachers would use the fireplaces to get to their homes.

Draco tossed a handful of the powder into the fire and said clearly, "Malfoy Manor."

He grabbed Hermione's hand and they walked together through the fireplace towards their new life together.

**Epilogue: 15 Years Later…..**

"_Hurry _Alex! The train is about to leave!" Hermione Malfoy called to her to her twelve year old son.

He ran to catch up, pushing his cart with his trunks and owl on it.

"Wait – where's Mona?" Draco asked.

"Over here!" She called from about twenty feet ahead of them.

Her silver eyes were wide with excitement and her long, straight brown hair blew in the breeze as she skipped towards platform 9 and ¾.

"Oh, look! There's Landon and Lily!" Alexander exclaimed pointing at his two best friends, Lily Potter and Landon Weasley. The three were all in Gryffindor together and starting their second year.

"Hi Alex! Hi Mona!" Lily said to the Malfoy siblings. Her cousin, Landon came up behind her with his parents.

Mona perked up when she saw Landon. "Hi, Landon!" She said.

The adults exchanged amused, knowing looks.

"Oh, hey Mona." He said back.

"Hello Hermione, Draco. Today feels like a good day, I don't see any nargles." Luna said dreamily. Beside Luna was her husband, Ron. Clutching Ron's hand was his eleven year old daughter Lorelei. Her big blue eyes were filled with excitement like Mona's and her wavy blond hair kept falling in her eyes.

"Aren't you excited? I _do _hope I'm in Ravenclaw." She said excitedly.

"Yes, Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad. I can see myself in it." Mona said seriously.

"Hogwarts is great! You're going to love it, Mone! But the only thing I don't like is the working conditions of the poor house elves." Alexander said with a frown and he ran a hand through his curly white-blonde hair.

"You're so like Hermione." Draco said fondly. Mona rolled her eyes. Her brother was always coming up with new schemes and protests. Last week he was going on about how owls have to fly such long distances. Her mother always called him a rebel without a cause.

"Want to go find a seat?" Lilly asked Alexander. Alex nodded, hugged his parents' goodbye and disappeared with Lily and Landon into the smog and steam from the train.

"Where's Albus and James?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I saw James with his girlfriend and I think Al was talking with Ginny and Harry over there. He wanted to bring some prank kit and Ginny won't let him. I remember being fourteen." Ron said reminiscently.

Suddenly the train lurched to life.

"Oh! You girls have to go now! I'm going to miss you so much, honey!" Hermione said with tears in her eyes.

Mona kissed both her parents on their cheeks and ran off with her best friend, Lorelei onto the Hogwarts Express just as it chugged away from the station.

Hermione couldn't see her son, but Mona's little arm waved goodbye as she leaned out the window towards her parents. The train went around the corner and she was gone.

"She'll be okay." Draco said comfortingly to his wife when he saw the look on her face.

"I know. I just wish I could be there with her. I want my job as Librarian back." She said.

"But you said you wanted them to have the real Hogwarts experience without their parents there, that's why you got a job in the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and I got a job in Department of International Cooperation." Draco said to her.

Hermione sighed. Ginny and Harry joined Ron, Luna, Hermione and Draco on the platform.

Harry and Ginny greeted both Hermione and Draco kindly like Luna did, but Ron kept right on ignoring his childhood enemy. It didn't bother Draco like it did Hermione; he knew Ron would come around.

"Well there they go. Our kids are off to Hogwarts." Harry said sadly.

"They are going to have so much fun. I know I did." Hermione said as she winked at her husband, Draco Malfoy. She just hoped that her kids would find their true love at the magical school just like she found hers.

**THE END **

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